Waterproof

Short Paper

Waterproof, the word and moment where the reader realizes they have missed something if they still do not know the name of Lolita’s abductor, Quilty. Waterproof, the word that brings a flash of Hourglass Lake to Humbert’s consciousness. Waterproof, the word that takes the befuddled reader flipping back through the pages to discover that the ordinary passage doesn’t serve up Quilty’s name on a silver platter; the word that reminds Humbert that he “had known it [Quilty’s identity], without knowing it, all along” (272). Through exploring the ways in which the word waterproof functions in Nabokov’s novel, Lolita, the reader will further understand the intentions behind Lolita masquerading as a novel about pedophilia.

Waterproof is a very appropriate word to be a trigger word for Humbert and the reader because waterproof implies something airtight and sealed, like the deceit of Quilty, or perhaps the ploys of Nabokov. Both Quilty and Nabokov hoodwink their intended so thoroughly that there is little room to breathe. Quilty does so by eluding Humbert, but leaving clues. Nabokov does this by ensnaring the reader into the novel and toying with their expectations. The way Quilty and Nabokov trick both Humbert and reader is simply, waterproof.

Another way of looking at waterproof is by looking at the reader’s expectations and how Nabokov plays with them. The reader has urgently flipped through the pages to find the clue at Hourglass Lake on page 89, but is perplexed (unless they are an astute and extremely observant reader). ““Waterproof,” said Charlotte softly, making a fish mouth” (89). Nabokov is simply refusing to conform to what the reader would expect as a conventional mystery puzzle. Nabokov, like Quilty, has left clues, and instead of revealing the information, like Humbert, we are left searching, and then later, left to make the connections. The reader is supposed to be an active participatory reader in order to play the game; otherwise the book is nothing, but an erotic story about pedophilia.

Waterproof is the word that leads Humbert and the reader to the first reference to a tangible Quilty. Notice that Nabokov, true to his indirectness, leads the reader next to the clue, not straight to it. The third paragraph down from “Waterproof” Jean is talking and says, “Next time I expect to see fat old Ivor in the ivory. He is really a freak, that man. Last time he told me a completely indecent story about his nephew. It appears-” and she is interrupted by John, “Hullo there” (89). Ivor Quilty’s inappropriate nephew happens to be the Clare Quilty that torments Humbert. Waterproof leads Humbert and the reader to the setting of Hourglass Lake where Quilty is in the action, but we just don’t know it yet.

Nabokov leaves little treats for the reader to eat up if the reader is astute. Quilty leaves enough clues, seemingly obvious, once Humbert realizes the identity of his adversary. Nabokov and Quilty seem to be playing a game, at which the reader and poor Humbert are subjected to without much of a choice. And through looking at one single word in the novel, the reader can learn much more about the type of novel they are reading and what to expect, than through blundering through the novel and thinking it is only about a pedophile. Waterproof, might in fact, say it all.